Darth Stewie Pizza Cooker - Maiden Voyage

A Long Time Ago (~ 4 hours) In A Galaxy Far Far Away (on my driveway)....
*Insert Grand Orchestral Intro Here*



For those that do not watch the show Family Guy, the show has done parodies of the Star Wars films and the baby Stewie plays the role of Darth Vader. The picture above does not show the resemblance as much as real life.


I actually built this last fall but just now got around to giving it a run. I had some build pics but have lost them somehow so I will do my best to describe the construction. Basically the base is the base of a cheap $40 grill from Walmart. I used the lid on a UDS and had it lying around. I cut it down a bit to allow the weber kettle base to fit over the top. On the weber base there are two levels of tabs that usually hold the cooking and charcoal grates. At the charcoal grate level I bent the tabs and inserted a cheap ($3 at Walmart) aluminum pizza pan. This seals the top to keep the heat from escaping out the "intake" vents. I then bent the tabs at the cooking level and inserted a pizza stone from Red Sky Grilling which covers most of the grate along with a cheap grate. The tabs at both levels are bent back to hold the pan and grate in place. I also cut the hole in the front.

Now to today's cook. Since this was a trial run I was mostly wanting to test the cooker. Thus, I chose to eliminate other variables as much as I could. So, I went to a local pizza place that I know and got all the ingredients. I figured I wouldn't have to worry about the dough doing it this way. So, here is the assembled pizza pre-cook.


I stopped by Sam's today and picked up some Mesquite lump charcoal. Not a bad deal at 40lbs for $15. People said that mesquite lump burns hot and I have to agree completely. Check out the size of some of those chunks!


In reading other pizza cooker threads it seems many people had issues with getting hot enough temps. I wanted to avoid this so I went all out to ensure a hot cook. I fired up a chimney of the lump and filled in around it. It took a bit for it all to get going and I had to move some of the coals around but eventually it was looking pretty good.



I then put the "helmet" on and let the stone warm up. I do not have an IR thermometer (yet, see deal here I have on order). I did use a oven thermometer to get a feel for what the temps were. It took a bit for the temp to come up but I started feeling good when it got up to 450*. Then I started to worry a bit when it was passing 600*



I decided at this point to throw the pizza on and see what happened. I had been told by the guy at the pizza place and by others that cooking on the parchment paper would be fine and that is how they usually do it. I do not have a peel or cornmeal so I went with their advice. First lesson learned. If I don't know the temp of the oven and stone this is not a good idea. The paper did in fact start to burn on the first pizza. I was keeping a close eye on it and it turned out pretty good. It was done in 3 minutes!



This was just a little 8" pie and was devoured quickly. The crust was perfectly toasted (once the charred paper was removed). The cheese was provel and melted quickly and evenly. The sauce and pepperoni was also hot but not thermo-nuclear. I would have liked for the toppings to maybe get done a bit more. Kind of along the lines of slight browning. However, I was more that pleased with the results. Since I had purchased the parts for two pies I went ahead and threw on the second. This was more of an issue as the paper burnt everywhere almost immediately. I had a spatula and got the pizza off the paper in most places and the dough had already firmed up enough so I was able to salvage it quite well.

BTW, nothing goes better with a fresh pie like Jolly Rancher Soda.


I was then caught in the conundrum of what to do with this super hot oven with not off switch. I grabbed my welding gloves and moved the top section to a safe place to cool. I used a weber lid to cover the base but it does not seal well. 4 hours later its still putting off some good heat.


So, lessons for next time:
1. Ease up on the charcoal!
2. Get rid of the paper and use some corn meal.
3. Have a better plan for post-cook operations.

My biggest question is going to be in regards to temperature control. I can shut down the intake vents but with the big hole in the front I wonder how much control I will have. As always I am open to any comments and suggestions.

caseydog said:

I like your pizza cooker, but you need to try that pizza with some real, fresh Mozzarella. Toss some fresh basil leaves on top, and savor the taste of a real Napoli pizza.

CD

Click to expand...

Thanks. I definitely plan to do more on the pizza side. As I said this was more of a functional test of the cooker itself.

Pyle's BBQ said:

From the other pizza kettle threads I have read, it looks like you do not have enough room around the edges to promote cooking on the top. Some have used a d shape that is cut out of the stone and then place opposite the front hole to get heat traveling across the top of the pizza. Like here

This would give you a current of air in and out of the oven, without using the bottom vent.

Click to expand...

I have the same stone that Moose does. I think I was getting plenty of air flow up top. The oven thermometer was reading the air temp above the stone and was over 600*. I think my biggest problem was actually having too much heat.

jaymo said:

I picked up a decent wooden peel for pizzas awhile back and it is really handy! If you see one that doesn't cost too much, it's a nice tool to have around.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I plan to hit a store this week and pick one up. As small as the opening is, I am not sure if I want a wooden or metal peel. My big fear with a wooden on is not getting under the pie and pushing it to the back due to the small access hole.

edog said:

Look's great.
I will have to make one for myself.
what kind of stone is inside or did i miss something.

Click to expand...

http://www.redskygrilling.com/

Moose said:

Whether using charcoal or propane as I do, the challenge with using a kettle to cook pizzas is getting the top to cook as well as the bottom. You might find good results doing what I did, which was to mount a pizza pan underneath the lid of the kettle. This effectively lowers the "ceiling" of the kettle, helping to force hot air over the pie and out the front vent. Here's what mine looks like, although I've since straightened the pan:

Another thing I'd suggest is to use semolina flour instead of cornmeal. It's much finer than cornmeal so it helps the pie slide off the peel much easier, not to mention the fact that it doesn't change the flavor and texture profile of the crust the way cornmeal does.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I have a pan in there for the ceiling but I believe it was only a 16" one so its up there a ways. I will have to find a bigger one to lower the ceiling. Thanks for the tip on the flour. Good looking pizza there too :thumb:

Thanks. From that thread and I believe the one you had before, it looks like you shoot for a stone temp of 625*? How are you controlling the heat when using charcoal or are you just using your gas burner setup? Obviously I need to reduce the amount used.